Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A Special "Thank You"

As I've now slept overnight since opening The Blog...I've reminisced on how much I have grown as a person and how much I have my first dog, Fanny, to thank for that.

One significant person I met on my journey with Fanny was Jan Blue. Jan was the first "real" trainer I met...and, gosh...that was 6 years ago? Fanny was having some reactivity issues with visitors coming to the house. In fact, that is why she was surrendered to the shelter not once, but twice in her first three years of life. The "owner" (I used quotes because this person did nothing more than own her for a mere month before giving up) before me was hardly that. On her adoption profile, it said "We love Fanny dearly..." Yeah right. If you "love" someone - be it a person or an animal - you do NOT give up on them.

Anyway, back to Jan. The first class I had with Jan was remarkable. She had immediate empathy for Fanny, my husband and myself. A true dog person. For those of you who have been blessed with meeting someone like Jan, you know exactly what I am talking about. She took the time to get to know us, our lifestyle and our dog. She worked with us with appropriate protocols and support whenever we needed it.

Jan, thank you, thank you, thank you for helping our dear girl, Fanny, and for helping me become as passionate as I am about dogs. You are truly THE inspiration that helped me blossom into a caring, understanding guardian to my dogs.

About Me

Simply put: I have loved dogs my entire life.
Repeatedly requesting one on every single birthday and Christmas list since learning how to write and bombarding my parents to just "go take a look at one" since words began sputtering out of my mouth. My dream became a reality on December 5, 2002. I went to the local humane society with a very dear friend of mine and adopted my first dog, Fanny. She was a 3 year old white German Shepherd whose stunning presence stopped me in my tracks. She was beautiful. The search was over. I knew her and I would be together.
Self labeled as a D.B.N. (Dog Behavior Nerd), my passion for dogs has grown leaps and bounds since bringing my second dog, Oscar, into the Holder family. I'm a designer during the 8-5 routine, but a dog enthusiast 24-7-365.